Skyrim: The Sonmia Silverkin Experience
by bulletprooflindsay
Summary: Sonmia Silverkin just committed murder. Her life is coming to a fast close. That all changes when a dragon attacks Helgen. (DISCLAIMER: This story is based off the main story, and may possibly be based on other main quests in the future. I will have my own story line added, though. You've been warned.) Rated T for blood and crude language.
1. Consider Yourself (Almost) Dead

She did it. She finally did it. After years and years of torture and abuse from her father, Sonmia was finally free. She stared intently as blood poured from her father's neck, blood dripping down the blade of her dagger, trickling down her fingers and onto the floor. Her hands started to shake from the pleasure of actually being free, and soon her whole body started trembling with glory. Avenging her mother's death was the highlight of her life, and she couldn't be happier with herself for doing so.

"By order of the Jarl, open the door! You're under arrest for the murder of Jaques Silverkin!" Sonmia turned around, startled that they already found her. Damien must've ratted her out. They must've heard the cries and screams of terror. Now her body was trembling with panic as she searched for a way out. She looked all around and saw a bump under the rug. The secret door! She would escape through the basement and make a run for it to the next town.

Sonmia sheathed her dagger and flung the rug behind her. She opened the secret door and jumped down, not even bothering to grab any other means of protection. She forgot how dark the basement was, but she was still able to make her way through to the door leading outside. Pushing the door open, she darted for the wilderness.

"In the name of the Jarl, stop where you are!" Caught like a kid with a stolen sweet roll. Sonmia threw her hands up and turned around, facing the line of Imperial guards just anticipating her arrest. "You're under arrest for the murder of Jaques Silverkin. What do you have to say for yourself?" Sonmia kept silent as she was grabbed by two guards. Another guard took her dagger, her precious Ebony dagger, and kept it for himself. "I'm sending you to the keep, where you'll be locked away for the rest of your days. You'll never see the light of day again, you hear?" Sonmia still kept silent, but happily let a smirk form on her face, realizing that killing her father was completely worth it.

Sonmia woke up what seemed like years later in her dark cell. Cries and wimpers of other prisoners came from all around her. Guards yelled at the prisoners, telling them to keep quiet and teasing them with delicious food delicacies from the outside. Sonmia sat up on her cot, feeling like she hadn't moved in over a century. She stood up and went over to her cell door, looking out at the large, dark room full of cells before her. She grasped the bars of the cell door, closed her eyes, and prayed to the gods for a miracle.

"Hey, you," one of the Imperial guards that caught her yesterday came up to her and unlocked her door, "looks like you'll be seeing the light of day after all. Just got an order from the Jarl. You're to be sent to Helgen to be executed, along with a few others." _Great, this was exactly what I wanted,_ she thought to herself as she was led outside. The sun blinded her eyes; it was as if she had been isolated from real sunlight for decades; she lifted her tied arms up to shield her from it. "Come on, get your sorry ass up there!" One of the guards kicked Sonmia onto the cart, and Sonmia fell face first to the floor. One of the inmates quickly helped her up and onto the seat as best as he could.

"Thanks, but I could've-" Sonmia stopped and looked over at her helper; he was a Nord, just like her, with shoulder-length dark brown hair, almost as dark as hers, and deep-set light brown eyes, just like she had. His face showed a look of seriousness, but deep down, she could see he was terrified of the situation upon him. Instantly, her words were confused, jumbled messes. Her brain turned to a puddle of troll fat and her cheeks started to burn. "I-I uh...I could've, uhm, helped myself up, you know."

"Just thought I'd serve one last act of kindness before I'm sent to Sovengarde. So what're you in for? Thievery upon the Jarl?"

"Uh, no. I killed my father," Sonmia replied with as much pride as she could muster. "It was a proud moment I'll never regret committing."

"Well damn, I never would've expected such a crime out of a innocent-looking thing like you."

"Look, I may be a young woman, seventeen years young at that, but that doesn't mean I can't commit murder. Everyone has the potential to murder."

"That's true, I suppose," the man chuckled with his deep and plain eastern Skyrim accent. "What's your name, kid?"

"It's Sonmia. Yours?"

"Farkas. You from around here?"

"What, this cruddy place? Gods, no. My family comes from Riverwood. But we moved to Falkreath after my the death of my mother...My father, he killed her, about ten years ago. He was abusive to her, which made her become unfaithful to him. She started secretly seeing Alvor, who owned the smithy. When my father found out, he took her down into our basement and beat her to a pulp. My brother Damien and I, we were just kids...we could hear the whole thing. I went down to the cellar to try and stop my father, and...well, I saw him kill her. Slashed her throat right open. I couldn't do anything to stop it. I was just a kid. Helpless. But once the incident happened, my father knew he couldn't stay, the people would realize she wasn't working at the mine. Then they'd all realize she wasn't around at all anymore. And then they would start talking. And then they would realize what had happened. So me, my father, and my brother moved to Falkreath to get a fresh start. My brother ran away after a couple years of abuse. And soon, he started taking out all of his anger on me, and finally I couldn't take it anymore. So I slashed his throat open, same way my mother was killed."

"Damn, that's quite a story. I'm sorry that happened to your mother. Your father deserved what he got."

"Yeah, I guess...So where're you from?"

"I'm from Whiterun. But that's not where I was held. I was being held in Solitude. I was on a Companion mission to get my brother Vilkas out of prison. I had to sneak into the Blue Palace, steal some money, and go into Solitude's keep and pay off his bail. Obviously, that didn't turn out so well. I ended up getting caught by General Tullius, and he took me in. Now I'm here. That's not as exciting as your story, but..."

"Exciting enough. So the Companions are real, eh?"

"As real as you and I, sister."

"My mother used to tell me stories about the Companions. The way she told them inspired me, and I've always wanted to join them."

"You truly know what a family is when you're with them."

And that was the end of the conversation. The rest of the ride there was filled with whispers of praying from the other inmates on the cart. After what seemed like hours, they finally reached Helgen, and suddenly Sonmia was calm. She was no longer scared, afraid. She came to accept the terms of her crime, and whether she was going to be sent to Oblivion or who knows where, she knew she couldn't have lived her life any better, and she couldn't be any happier, any prouder of herself than she was in that moment.

Third in line, she waited for her name to be called. Once her name was called, she stood in line next to Farkas, who stood tall and proud, with his back straight, his shoulders pulled back, and his head held high. Sonmia looked over at him, and he over at her. Their eyes met, and locked, and for a moment, they were in a complete trance with each other. Sonmia's name was called, and a rush of adrenaline rushed through her veins. Farkas gave her a reassuring nod of approval, and Sonmia slowly and proudly walked to the chopping block. A guard pushed her head down onto the block. Sonmia took a deep breath, and silently prayed to her mother to forgive her.

Suddenly the ground shook underneath her, and everyone stopped. The executioner put his blade down, and everyone looked around to see what it was. When nothing else happened, the captain ordered for the executioner to continue. Right before the blade hit Sonmia's neck, a massive object flew down from the sky and onto the tower. Sonmia stood and looked up to see a giant black dragon in front of her, one that was angry and ready to bite her head off.


	2. Consider Yourself Saved, Prisoner

"What in Oblivion is that?!" the executioner exclaimed, dropping his blade near Sonmia's face.

"Is that...is that a dragon?!" Legate Rikke's eyes were full of fear and wonder.

The dragon sat upon the tower. Sonmia turned herself around and looked at him. He was massive, greater than any Nord tale could ever explain. His scales were blacker than the night, and his eyes screamed "I am your worst nightmare." He looked right at Sonmia and shouted. Sonmia blacked out for who knows how long. When she awoke, everyone was running. The dragon was terrorizing Helgen. Everything was on fire. Sonmia looked around to see where she could run to.

"Hey, woman! Get up, the gods won't give us another chance!" Sonmia looked around and realized a Stormcloak soldier was talking to her. She followed him into the nearest tower, where two other Stormcloaks were hiding, along with...Jarl Ulfric?

"Is this really happening, Jarl Ulfric? Could the legends be true?" a Stormcloak soldier asked. He was huddled in the corner, clutching his tiny steel war axe.

"Legends don't burn down villages," Ulfric replied. "But never mind that, we need to get out of here! Up through the tower, let's go!"

Sonmia followed Ulfric and the other Stormcloak soldiers up the stairs. Halfway up, the dragon's head burst through the wall. It looked around, then exhaled fire. Sonmia could feel the heat from 10 feet away. A nearby Stormcloak was burned alive. The dragon flew off, leaving a giant hole in the wall. The rest of the stairs were barracaded by rubble.

"Crap, there's no way up! What do we do?!" a small, meek female soldier asked, completely terrified.

"Look, see that inn down there? The roof is busted, we could probably jump through," Sonmia suggested.

"I don't like the sound of that, but there's not much else we can do." Ulfric made the first jump. Sonmia looked down to see if he was okay. There was smoke blocking her view. She gave it a moment to clear, and when it did, she saw that Ulfric had run off.

"That bastard, how could he just leave us?!" one soldier exclaimed.

"There's no time to worry about him, we have to jump!" Sonmia held her breath, closed her eyes and jumped. When she landed, an immense pain exploded in her ankle. "Shit, shit, shit," she said to herself as she tried to stand up. Another giant roar from above made her forget the pain. She needed a way out of here. She gave a good look around, and the only way out was through a giant hole in the floor. Sonmia jumped down, which only reminded her of the pain in her ankle. Whether it was broken or not, she was determined to get out of there. Sonmia made it through a hole in the wall to her right and back outside where some Imperial soldiers were hiding behind some rocks.

"Hammel, you need to get over here, now!" An Imperial soldier was yelling at a young boy who would be burned alive if he didn't move. Thankfully, the boy followed the soldier's orders. Something told Sonmia that the soldier was the boy's father. "That a boy, you're doing great. You there," the soldier turned to Sonmia, "stay close to me if you want to stay alive. Gunnar," the man turned to the other Imperial soldier, "take care of Hammel. I need to find Tullius and join the defense. Follow me, prisoner."

"Gods guide you, Hadvar," the other Imperial soldier said.

Sonmia and the Imperial soldier named Hadvar made their way through the burning town. People passed by, some on fire, some with lost limbs; some in uniform, some in prisoner's clothing. Everything was going to ruins because of this dragon that appeared out of no where. _Why is this dragon here? Where in Oblivion did it come from? Shouldn't they be dead?_ Sonmia asked herself these questions as they kept moving forward.

"Rolaf, you traitor!" Hadvar yelled at a Stormcloak soldier.

"I'm getting out of here, Hadvar. Out of my way!"

"I hope that damn dragon kills you and all your other rebel friends! Come on, prisoner, into the keep!" Sonmia followed Hadvar into the Helgen keep. "Looks like we're the only ones that made it. Come here, let me get those binds off of you." Hadvar cut Sonmia's binds off, which she completely forgot about.

"Thanks, that feels a lot better," Sonmia said. "Where did that dragon come from?"

"Who knows. But we need to keep moving. Have a quick look around, see if there's any gear or weapons to take for yourself. I need to find something for these burns." Sonmia looked in a chest nearby, which had light Imperial armor, boots, an iron sword, and a key. Sonmia took all of it.

"Hey, don't look this way, I'm changing," Sonmia said to Hadvar. She put the armor and boots on and equipped the iron sword. She then looked back in the chest and picked up the key. "Hey, what's this key for?"

"Let me see." Hadvar took the key and scanned it over. "I think it's for that door. Here, I'll give it a try." Hadvar walked over to the door leading to the next hallway and tried to unlock it. The lock clicked, and Hadvar opened the door. "It worked. Let's keep moving. Keep your weapon drawn, we don't know who else is out there." Sonmia did as she was told and drew her weapon, and kept her guard up for whatever could be out there.

They turned right through the doorway into a hallway. There was a large, circular room just down the corridor. Sonmia could hear voices coming from the other end.

"Hey, you hear that?"

"Yeah," Hadvar crept up to the gate closing off the room, "looks like Stormcloaks. Let me do the talking. Maybe we can reason with them."

"Reason with Stormcloaks, are you serious?" Sonmia gave a tighter grip on her sword.

"Just keep your mouth shut." Sonmia did as she was told and followed Hadvar into the room, limping as fast as she could. The Stormcloak soldiers noticed them right away. They drew their weapons, completely intended on killing Hadvar and Sonmia. "Now hold on, we just want to talk-"

"Talk? Why should we talk to you? We should just cut your head off," the female Stormcloak replied.

"Look, we don't want to fight, we just-"

"Well we do." The male Stormcloak drew his battleaxe and lunged towards Hadvar.


	3. Let's Get Outta Here

"Oh shit." Sonmia immediately threw her sword up to block the hit from the female Stormcloak. The soldier raised her warhammer, and Sonmia took this chance to plunge her sword into the woman's chest. The Stormcloak went limp. Sonmia laid her on the ground and pulled her sword out. It was covered in blood. Her mind flashed back to when she killed her father. All the blood that dripped down her hands, the adrenaline and glory she felt from it. She was feeling the same thing again. _Am I mad? Is there something wrong with me? _she asked herself. She looked over at Hadvar, who had sucessfully killed the other Stormcloak.

"Well, that should do it. Gods, all this blood on me, it's disgusting. Wish I had something to wipe it off with. Oh well. Let me see if I can get this door open." Hadvar went over to the door leading into the next hallway. While he tried to unlock it, Sonmia decided to see if the dead soldier's had anything worthwhile.

"You didn't even give it a second thought," Sonmia said quietly.

"What?"

"The fact that you just killed someone. You immediately thought about getting the blood off of you. You don't even care that you murdered someone." Sonmia took an iron dagger from one of the soldiers, and three gold pieces and a steel dagger from the other. She contemplated taking the warhammer, but decided it was too heavy to carry, so she stuck with her sword.

"It isn't murder if you're fighting in a war. But it looks like you didn't think about it, either. You looted them right away. There, I got it open. Come on, let's go." Sonmia quietly followed Hadvar into the next hallway. Halfway down, the ground rumbled and part of the ceiling fell, blocking their path. "Damn it, that dragon doesn't give up easily. Where are we supposed to go now?"

Sonmia looked around. There was a door on her left. When she opened it, she saw it lead to a storeroom, which looked like it could lead somewhere else. "Come on, let's go through here. This might lead somewhere."

Both Sonmia and Hadvar walked in, with Sonmia in the lead. Sonmia stopped when she heard voices coming from the other end of the room.

"These damn Imperials have to have healing potions somewhere," one of the voices said.

"Damn, more Stormcloaks," Hadvar whispered. "Looks like we're going to have to fight again."

"That's the last thing I want to do." Sonmia crouched, and snuck to the wall closest to the soldiers. She sheathed her sword, and took out the iron dagger she looted. Peering over, she could see the two soldiers searching through some barrels and crates. "I'll take one, you take the other," Sonmia whispered. "We'll sneak up, and stab them in the side of the neck. Deal?"

"I don't have a dagger."

"Good thing I grabbed two. Here." Sonmia handed Hadvar the steel dagger. He took it without hesitation. "You go first, I'll follow you."

"Alright. Here goes." Still crouched, Sonmia quietly snuck up behind the taller Stormcloak. She quickly stood up, and stabbed him right in the neck. He dropped like a sack of potatoes. Sonmia looked over to see if Hadvar succeeded. The other Stormcloak was dead. "Done and done. Good job."

"Yeah. We make a pretty good team, I'd say," Hadvar said with a smile.

"Uh, yeah, I suppose."

"Let's have a look around, see if there's anything useful in here." Sonmia looted six gold pieces all together out of the Soldiers. She looked through some nearby barrels and found four minor healing potions. "Hey, I found some potions." Hadvar came over, and Sonmia handed him two of the potions. "This should make you feel better." Hadvar immediately drank both of them.

"Gods, these things are so bitter. I wish there was a sweeter recipe for them."

"Yeah, that would be nice," Sonmia said, before she downed one of them. The bitter taste from the blisterwort made her face scrunch up. "It's really the aftertaste that's the worst."

"That's true. I wish there was some pots of honey just laying about. Poor man's luck, right?"

"Mmmm, some honey would be great." Sonmia looked up as another dragon roar came from above. "We should get moving." They left the storeroom and went onto the next hallway. At the bottom of some stairs, they came across the torture room.

"Oh, gods. This place. I wish we didn't need it."

"STORMCLOAKS! GET THEM!" someone yelled from the room. Hadvar and Sonmia sprinted in to find some Imperials fighting two more Stormcloaks. Sonmia ran over to the closest one, and slashed her throat open. The other Stormcloak was dead in seconds by three Imperials ganging up on him.

"You two happened along just in time. Those Stormcloaks seemed a little angry at how I was treating their comrades." The torturer was a Dark Elf, his voice sly and cunning.

"Do you even know what's happening out there? There's a dragon attacking Helgen!" Hadvar exclaimed.

"A dragon? Please, don't be stupid...now that I think about it, I did hear some strange noises coming from above."

"We can get you out of here. Come with us," Sonmia suggested.

"And what makes you think I'll actually listen to you?"

"Did you not hear me?" Hadvar was starting to get irritated. "There's a dragon out there, killing everyone!"

"Forget that old man. I'll come with you," chimed in another man. He was tall, built. He appeared to be the torturer's assistant. His voice was deep, and ordinary.

"Well then come on, let's get going!" Hadvar said. Sonmia and the assistant followed Hadvar down the hallway...


	4. Tunnels, Broken Ankles, and Freedom

The tunnel was dark, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of you. The only light the trio came across were the giant fire-lit lanters that were widely spread out along the tunnel. The tunnel went straight for the most part, it curved here and there but there were no major turns they had to take. It was also cold. The only heat they felt was brought by the few lanters they passed. They stopped for a few moments at each lantern to warm up. As they moved through the tunnel, Sonmia focused on all the creepy sounds within the tunnel. She could hear little bits of rubble falling off the rock walls; the sounds of creepy little bugs crawing on the floor; and in the distance, she could also hear flowing water.

"I think I can hear an undergrown stream up ahead," Sonmia whispered. Neither Hadvar nor the assistant acknowledged her, they just kept moving.

In a short amount of time, they reached a big undergrown room, with a small bridge crossing over a small underground stream, like Sonmia had heard. Sonmia looked around and saw three dead Imperial and one dead Stormcloak soldier.

"Someone must have come through here already," Hadvar said.

"It was probably those Stormcloaks we were dealing with earlier," the assistant replied. The ground shook fiercely, and another loud roar came from above, reminding them there was no time to dottle.

"Come on, we have to keep moving," Sonmia urged.

"Wait, we should check to see if these fools have anything of use; gold or a weapon or something," the assistant said.

"You wanna die in here? Fine. Go ahead, have a look around, we're not going to wait for you. Come on, girl, let's go." Hadvar lead the way across the bridge and continued onto the next tunnel. "Come on, there's no time to waste!"

Sonmia looked back at the assistant, who was checking the bodies. As much as she wanted to take some loot, Hadvar was right. There was no time to waste. She sprinted to catch up to him.

"Wait for me!" the assistant cried from behind. After a second, he was caught up to the other two.

A little ways down the next tunnel, an undrawn bridge blocked their path.

"Well how in the blazes are we supposed to get this down?" Hadvar asked. Sonmia looked around and saw a lever on the wall to her left. She pulled it, and the bridge came crashing down. "Oh, great. Let's keep going." Hadvar lead the way across the bridge and into the next tunnel. As they came through the previous tunnel, the ground shook again, and giant rocks came down from above, blocking their path behind them. "Looks like there's no going back. We have to keep moving forward." Another underground stream faced them, flowing down westward through the cavern.

"If we follow along this stream, we might be able to find a way out," Sonmia suggested.

"It looks like we don't have a choice," said the assistant.

Sonmia decided to lead the way down the stream. It wasn't long before they reached a dead end. "Ah, shit. Where do we go now?"

"I think we can go this way," said Hadvar, pointing to a tunnel to the right. This tunnel seemed colder, darker, and quieter. There was some light at the end of the tunnel, which wasn't too far away. It seemed like it lead to a cave. At the end of the tunnel, they could all see this cave was full of small spiders.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," said the assistant.

"Gods, these things have always scared me," Hadvar added.

"...You guys are wimps. Let me handle them, there's only three." One by one, Sonmia went up to each one and stabbed them between their heads and their abdomens. "There, see? Simple as that."

"You're too brave, girl," said Hadvar.

"Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment. Let's get moving, we must be close to the end of this forsaken place." Hadvar took the lead again, Sonmia following behind him and the assistant following behind her.

"Hey, girl, are you alright? I just noticed you're limping." The assistant placed a hand on Sonmia's shoulder to stop her.

"Oh, yeah, I think I sprained my ankle or something jumping into the roof of an inn. It doesn't hurt right now, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? We can stop to rest if you need it," Hadvar offered.

"No, seriously, I'm fine. We need to get out of here. I don't want to stay in here longer than I have to."

"Alright, let's get going then." Hadvar took the lead again, and they moved through the next tunnel to the following giant cave. On the far end of this cave, a decent-sized bear slept peacefully under the sun that broke through the roof of the cave.

"Oh, it's just one damned thing after another, isn't it?!" the assistant said, almost yelling it.

"Would you be quiet? I don't want to wake that thing up, it'll kill us on sight. Let's just be as quiet as possible, and sneak out of here. Alright? Deal?" Sonmia whispered firmly. Hadvar and the assistant both looked at each other, then back at Sonmia and gave her a nod in agreement. They all crouched to sneak, with Sonmia leading the way. She observed her surroundings and noticed there was an exit to the far left of the cave, which Sonmia aslo noticed was pretty far away from the bear, making for an easy sneak escape. Sonmia motioned with her hand for the other two to follow her. Staying as far away from the bear as possible, they slowly and quietly made their way to the next tunnel. Once she was sure they were far enough away from the bear, Sonmia stood up.

"That was close," Hadvar whispered.

"Yeah, but we made it out of there alive thanks to this girl here. Uh, what is your name, by the way? I never bothered to ask," the assistant said.

"Oh, it's..uh, Sonmia," she said while looking down at her ankle, not really paying attention to the assistant. "Shit, this is really hurting."

"Let me have a look." Hadvar kneeled down and carefully slipped Sonmia's right boot off. "Oh, gods, that's pretty bad." Sonmia looked down and saw that her ankle was swollen to the size of two and a half red apples.

"Don't let me keep you from getting out of here. Just leave me here, I'll leave when I'm ready." Sonmia sat down against the tunnel wall, stretching her right leg out.

"And what are you going to do if that bear wakes up and decides it wants to come through this way, hm? You're in too bad of shape to fend for yourself against that thing. You have saved our asses too many times for us to just leave you here. We're going to get you out of here," Hadvar insisted. " You got anything we can rip, to wrap her ankle?"

"Uh, yeah, here, you can use my undershirt. Let me just..take it off...hold on just one second." The assistant removed his light armor, removed his tunic and handed it to Hadvar, who immediately ripped into a long cloth bandage. Hadvar took the bandage and wrapped it snug around Sonmia's foot and ankle, securing it with a pin from his armor. "There, that should hold it for now. You, assisstant, help me carry her." Sonmia put each arm around the shoulders of the two men. Sonmia had never felt so grateful in her life. She had never been treated or helped this way by anyone before. The thought of these two men helping her brought tears to her eyes, but she made them subside, because for Sonmia, crying was a sign of weakness.

After finally making their way around the first turn of the tunnel, a immensely bright light shone in their faces from the outside.

"By the gods, look! We finally made it! I thought we'd never get out of here!" the assistant exclaimed.

"Now now, don't get too excited. We don't know if the dragon's still out there or not. Let's just take it slow for now...boy, it's good to know we finally made it." The three slowly walked the rest of the way out of the cave, both of the men still helping Sonmia to walk out.


End file.
